Liars and scoundrels I

About a week ago, PPT pointed to the outrageous lying accompanying the military junta’s election campaigning and its hoovering up of candidates and election fixers, including some previously considered enemies of the military and monarchy. A few days later, in an op-ed at the Bangkok Post, Wasant Techawongtham seemed to have noticed the same lies. He was scathing in his comments. Here are some of them:

Some people just have no shame. They tell lies with a straight face. Perhaps they even believe those lies they tell.

Thai politics is … like a whirlpool spiralling ever deeper in the dark cesspool, reaching a greater depth than we ever reached before.

… obfuscation and downright lies.

We are dealing with charlatans who will lie and do anything to hang on to power.

Large numbers of people are now willing to take their lies as truths, treat their misbehaviours as appropriate or at least pardonable, and believe that “peace and stability” trumps freedom and democracy.

… their [the junta] gross craving for power and riches has led them to lose all shame and not mind being labelled hypocrites.

… they unashamedly turn to a group of discredited politicians — whom they earlier condemned as the cause of all political ills — to help them maintain their seats of power in any way possible.

There’s a lot there that is so obviously correct that we need not comment.

And so it is that the very same newspaper reports on the latest bucket of lies, dumped from on high. How high? Its from Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, the Deputy Dictator, the organizer of repression, the election fixer, the holder of luxury watches for a dead friend, a man so high up that he can spit on everyone else, lie with a straight face and keep his position.

In his latest blatant crock of smelly stuff, delivered with straight face, Gen Prawit at first “denied any knowledge of a senior military officer based in the Northeast helping to poach former MPs for the Phalang Pracharat Party.” Then when asked if “the officer in question was one of the top chiefs in the 2nd Army Region,” the dumpy general then admitted that he knew about this and threw out a stream of lies.

Gen Prawit said the “senior officer may have talked to politicians because they were acquainted but there was nothing more to it.” You see, he knows and then he lies. He then went deeper into the cesspool: “They may have had a conversation but it has nothing to do with me…”. He means it has everything to do with him. He’s the boss. He’s lying again.

And just for good measure – three lies are better than one or two – Gen Prawit “dismissed a rumour politicians paid a courtesy call on him at his residence at the 1st Infantry Regiment, King’s Guard, in Bangkok late last week.” Of course, he’s been meeting with them on a regular basis, organizing the junta’s rigged election. Gen Prawit couldn’t lie straight in bed.